Mitchell Lewis

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Mitchell Lewis (1916)

Mitchell J. Lewis (born June 26, 1880 in Syracuse , New York , † August 24, 1956 in Los Angeles , California ) was an American film and stage actor.

life and career

Mitchell Lewis served in the Spanish-American War at a young age . From 1905 at the latest he worked as an actor, initially only in the theater. He made his film debut in 1914 at the age of 34. During the silent film era, Lewis was a successful leading and supporting actor. Because of his tall stature, on the one hand he was often used in threatening roles, on the other hand, because of his versatility, he often played foreigners or exotic people, for example as horse lover Sheihk Idrim in the silent film version of Ben Hur from 1925. In 1923 he had one of his greatest successes with the Depiction of Herod Antipas in the main role of the historical drama Salome . From 1924 he was to play mostly for the MGM studio for the rest of his career .

Initially, he succeeded in switching to talkies. In the mid-1930s, Lewis roles were getting smaller and smaller and he rarely received credits in the film credits for his brief appearances . He had a well-known and exemplary brief appearance as Captain of the Wicked Witch's Castle in the classic film The Wizard of Oz (1939). Although he only spoke three short appearances in this role, he is still well known among fans of the film. Mitchell Lewis continued to work as an actor until his death, making well over 200 films.

Mitchell Lewis was a founding member of the Motion Picture Relief Fund . He was married three times and had one daughter. After his death in 1956 at the age of 76, he was buried in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale .

Filmography (selection)

Mitchell Lewis in Code of the Yukon (1919)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Mitchell Lewis at Allmovie
  2. ↑ Mitchell Lewis at Find A Grave
personal data
SURNAME Lewis, Mitchell
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Lewis, Mitchell J.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION US-American actor
DATE OF BIRTH June 26, 1880
PLACE OF BIRTH Syracuse , New York
DATE OF DEATH August 24, 1956
Place of death Los Angeles , California